Скачать или смотреть Family offers shelter to people displaced by govt offensive

(28 Oct 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Pan of people and children from Mehsud tribe in Jall village, near Dera Ismael Khan
2. Mid of children outside home
3. Close of man and children entering home
4. Mid of children
5. Wide of children inside home
6. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Muhammad Khan Mehsud, Internally Displaced Person (IDP) from South Waziristan:
"This is our relative's home, and we are nine families living here. Yet we receive no food relief from the government. We have no tent, no food, or any other necessary items for our lives."
7. Close of girl looking out from inside tent
8. Wide of children playing
9. Various of IDP children in Jall Village
STORYLINE
Tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) continued to flee their homes and seek aid from the Pakistani government and international aid agencies, as ongoing fighting in the South Waziristan region between Pakistan's military and Taliban militants forged ahead.
Most IDPs are staying with friends or relatives, many of whom live in Dera Ismail Khan (D I Khan), the nearest large city outside the fighting zone.
One family in the village of Jall was hosting seven other families at their home, which was previously a house for two families.
One of the displaced people living in the house complained that despite the difficulties they are facing, the government has given them no food, relief, or tents to live in.
The man said he relied on his family for food and shelter.
According to UN reports, as many as 155-thousand civilians have left Pakistan's South Waziristan in recent months, as the Pakistani military prepared to launch an offensive against militant fighters in the remote, rugged region along the Afghan border.
Authorities say up to 200-thousand people may flee in the coming weeks, but the government doesn't expect to have to house them in camps, because most have relatives in the region.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that humanitarian access to people in need remains the key challenge for humanitarian agencies, given the volatile security environment in the displacement areas.
The UNHCR also reported that in addition to aid given to individual families, assistance will need to be extended to hospitals, schools and other public facilities that may come under strain with large influxes of people.
The army moved into South Waziristan tribal region eleven days ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, a militant network it says is behind 80 percent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan.
Washington backs the operation because militants in the northwest region are believed to shelter al-Qaida leaders and attack Western troops in Afghanistan.
Local and foreign militants, including those belonging to al-Qaida, have extended their influence across much of the tribal regions in recent years.
Under US pressure, the army has moved against them in several places, but questions remain over their commitment to the fight.
Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged this month, killing more than 250 people, as the Taliban have tried to avert the army offensive in South Waziristan.
The military announced on Saturday it had captured the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, its first major achievement in the offensive.
The army said the town had hosted a training camp for suicide bombers.
Independent verification of army claims is very difficult because the military has blocked access to the region.
The Taliban chief remained defiant on Sunday, saying his forces had "not suffered any significant losses in Waziristan".
He gave the comments in a phone interview.

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